What Is Greek Raki?
Raki is an alcoholic drink made with distilled grapes and anise, and
popular in Greece and other Mediterranean countries, including Greece’s
neighbour Turkey.
Greek Raki Served with Fruit after a Meal
In Greece you’ll be offered different drinks at different
stages of a meal. Ouzo is very much a pre-dinner drink, an aperitif, either
neat or with water added. Metaxa is a kind of Greek brandy (though it technically
isn’t a brandy) and always served after a meal though also in cocktails.
When to Drink Greek
Raki
Greek raki, though, is very versatile. Some restaurants or
tavernas will offer you a glass on the house when you sit down at your table.
You can drink it during the meal, as it’s a good accompaniment to meze dishes
(the Greek equivalent of the Spanish tapas), and it also works well with oily
fish dishes.
Finally, it’s the perfect after-dinner drink too, and those
restaurants which don’t bring you a pre-dinner raki will probably bring you a
raki after your meal. Our favourite restaurants do both! Raki is especially
popular on Crete.
Greek Raki on the Table before a Meal
How to Drink Greek
Raki
As with ouzo, you can either drink raki neat or add some
water to it to water it down. Also as with ouzo, this turns the spirit milky. Those
who like neat spirits would throw their hands up in horror at the thought of
watering any spirit down, including raki, but others like the taste of raki or
ouzo but simply don’t care for the strong alcoholic content of the neat spirit,
and they water it down so that they can enjoy it. You can also simply pop an
ice cube or two into your glass. Whatever works for you.
Drinking Greek Raki Diluted with Water
What Does Raki Mean?
The name raki is derived from arak, which is an Arabic word
for something that has been distilled. Both raki and arak are a mix of
distilled grapes and aniseed. The word arak is generally used in the Eastern
Mediterranean and the Middle East, while raki is used in Greece, Turkey, and
other Balkan countries, and also in Kazakhstan for some reason. In fact raki is
the national drink of Turkey. Greece doesn’t have an official national drink
but its unofficial one is ouzo, which is like a more sophisticated version of
raki.
A Popular Turkish Raki
What is Greek Raki?
Raki is made from grapes not used in wine-making, that are
double-distilled and then blended with anise. Raki tends to have less of an
anise taste than ouzo, but like any drink the quality can be very variable.
We’ve had rakis that are so rough that they make your eyes water and we’ve been
unable to finish them. But we’ve also had rakis that are super-smooth and make
the perfect ending to a meal.
Our Pick of the Guides to Greece
The History of Raki
Raki has been made for centuries but a popular belief is
that it was first made by monks on Mount Athos in the 14th century. We all know
that monks like making alcoholic drinks – they make wine in Germany, beer in
Belgium, chartreuse in France, and many other drinks in many other places. In
truth, though, people have probably made a raki-like drink with grapes left
over from wine-making for as long as wine has been made – which is for several
thousand years.
For a long time it was a drink that people made at home, and
because everyone made their own raki nobody bothered to make it commercially.
That changed sometime in the late 20th century when not everyone had their own
grapevines any more, and an increasing number of holidaymakers wanted to buy
raki to take home.
Raki or Tsipouro?
In Greece you’ll also find a drink called tsipouro. In some
places they are one and the same, and tsipouro is simply the local version of
raki. In other places tsipouro is a slightly different drink, as you can get
versions with or without anise added, but it’s usually hard for the average
visitor to tell the two apart. To complicate matters, in some places there’s
also a drink called tsikoudia. This too is a variation on the raki theme.
Bottles of Rakomelo
Rakomelo
Rakomelo is yet another drink but this one is made from
mixing raki with honey (meli) to produce
a drink that is sweeter than raki and not usually quite as strong. This is an
after-dinner drink and you can read all about it on our page about Making Rakomelo on Crete.
Other Greek Food and Drink Pages
Greek feta cheese is the most popular cheese in Greece, usually made from sheep’s milk, with a soft texture and salty taste and used to top off a Greek salad.
Greek food and drink is a highlight of any visit and Greece Travel Secrets brings you info about food and drink from all over Greece, from Athens to Zakynthos.
For a Crete olive oil tour Greece Travel Secrets visits Biolea, one of the few olive oil factories on Crete that you can visit.
Information for travelers on Corfu Food and Drink including restaurants and tavernas, Corfiot specialties, desserts, wine and other Greek drinks like ouzo.
Athens, an Eater's Guide to the City, is published by Culinary Backstreets, who do walking food tours in Athens and the book recommends the best places to eat.
Greece Travel Secrets explains the long history of the Greek dish of dolmades, or stuffed vine leaves, which goes back to ancient Greece, and provides a recipe.
Greek ouzo is an aniseed-based aperitif made all over the country but especially on Lesbos, tasting like a Greek pastis or arak and usually drunk with water.
This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Cretan Botano herbs and spices shop near Matala in southern Crete in search of the herb man of Kouses.
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to Greek grape varieties to help you know which wines to choose when dining in restaurants or buying wine in Greece.
Corfu olives are an important part of this Greek island's economy, with an estimated 3-4 million trees producing olive oil of exceptional quality.
Greece Travel Secrets visits Crete and learns about making rakomelo from Jorgos Kourmoulis in Agouseliana.
The Stilianou Winery near Knossos on Crete uses only Cretan grape varieties, with every bottle numbered, and aims for quality rather than quantity.
What is Metaxa? Metaxa is an amber Greek spirit combining brandy made by distilling wine, sweet wine from Samos and a secret recipe of Mediterranean botanicals.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Zacharioudakis Winery near Ancient Gortina in southern Crete, and does a vineyard tour arranged by our guide from Go Crete.
The Goules Taverna in Goulediana, south of Rethymnon, has been called one of the best tavernas on Crete and Greece Travel Secrets recently visited them.
Antonis Maroudas is a Zakynthos winemaker who lives on the 'wine road' and is one of the people who make Zakynthos.
Greece Travel Secrets reveals the history of the classic Greek dish, moussaka, as well as providing a recipe for you to make your own.
Greece Travel Secrets tells the history of the classic Greek dish tzatziki, with a recipe for making your own yogurt and cucumber dip.
Greece Travel Secrets tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali.
How to make Petimezi, the sweet Cretan syrup made from wine must, is explained to Greece Travel Secrets.
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to tipping in Greece from two Greece travel experts, including when to tip, what to tip and when not to tip.
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.
Studies have shown the Cretan Diet as one of the healthiest in the world, involving lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, fresh fish, and moderate amounts of wine.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
-
Visitors to the Kerameikos archaeological site in central Athens will soon have new access through an entrance-exit point being developed on Agion Asomaton Street, directly across from Dipylou Street.
Read More
-
A new section of the E65 motorway, often referred to as the “backbone road” of Central Greece, was opened to traffic in the second week of July, with 136 kilometers now operational. This road provides…
Read More
-
Iceland, Monaco, the UK, Greece, and Spain are Europe’s most expensive countries for short-term rentals, according to analytics experts AirDNA.
Read More
-
Greek seaplane company Hellenic Seaplanes on Friday laid the groundwork for some of the Greek islands that will welcome seaplanes and carried out its first flights between three islands of the Sporade…
Read More
-
The World’s Best Awards by Travel + Leisure recently ranked four Greek hotels among the best in the world and Europe, honoring them for their luxurious atmosphere and top-notch hospitality.
Read More
-
Santorini is now coping with the repercussions of overtourism generated by cruise ships and day-trippers from Crete and other adjacent islands.
Read More
-
Restaurants, tavernas, and grocery stores that highlight the local flavors of the Cyclades.
Read More
-
Greece Travel Secrets picks where to eat on Symi, down by the harbour or in the upper town, and whether you like fish, meat, vegetarian, traditional or modern.
Read More
-
Greece Travel Secrets chooses its top ten Athens restaurants with Acropolis views, perfect for dining by day or by night, including places with Michelin stars.
Read More
-
The former Hilton Athens is being transformed into a multi-faceted destination that aspires to forge exciting new connections between the Greek capital and the rest of the world.
Read More